Easy Irish Brown Bread Recipe
This simple bread actually contains no yeast, which makes it a snap to prepare. Its slightly dense texture and tangy flavor make it the perfect companion for rich foods like eggs or braised beef.
This recipe was featured as part of our Irish Breakfast for St. Patrick’s Day.
- 2 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
- Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Lightly dust a baking sheet with all-purpose flour; set aside.
- Place both flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine, breaking up any lumps. Add buttermilk and melted butter and mix with your hands until almost all of the flour is moistened and the dough holds together, about 1 minute.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface and turn out the dough. Knead until it forms a fairly smooth ball with no visible pockets of flour, about 1 minute. Work the dough into a flat round about 7 inches in diameter and 2 inches thick. Place on the prepared baking sheet and, using a sharp knife, slice an “X” across the top, edge to edge and about 1/2 inch deep.
- Bake until the internal temperature registers 190°F to 200°F on an instant-read thermometer and the bread makes a hollow sound when tapped, about 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing, about 2 hours. (If you slice the bread before it has completely cooled, it will be crumbly or fall apart.)
Made this yesterday as an alternative to traditional soda bread and it was fabulous, Don't know why my baking time was so much longer than the recipe said -- I used my instant read and finally gave up after about 50 minutes and a temperature of 180, when I thought it might be too crusty. It might have been able to stay another few, but it was wonderful, moist with a great crust. I did brush it with melted butter before baking. They will be looking for this again!
Woke up this morning realized it is St. Patrick's day. Then - saw the recipe. Baked a batch before coming to the office and now I am a star!! Served with some irish butter and jam. Yum!
Good God, an authentic recipe for brown bread/wheaten! No raisins! You'll get better results, though, if you substitute pastry flour (white and whole wheat) for the AP and whole wheat called for here. Irish flour is low in protein and you'll get a much more palatable result if you use soft flour (if you can get your hands on Odlums Cream and Wholemeal, so much the better). And DON'T OVERWORK THE DOUGH. Kneading is to develop gluten in a yeast bread--this needs to be handled as little as possible and gotten into the oven ASAP (the soda starts working as soon as it makes contact with the liquid). And wrapping it in a damp tea towel as soon as it comes out will help to keep it moist.
yummy!!!, looks delicious. I wonder if it will work if I use another bread instead irish brown. Oh well, how will I know if I will not try. :D http://irishcarbomb.com/
This is a new favorite at our home. Super-easy to make, looks great, and tastes wonderful with butter and honey. Didn't change the recipe at all.
heritage51, I did not test this in a bread maker. Irish Brown bread has a particular texture to it (more like a quick bread) and differs from yeast-leavened bread. I'm not sure if a machine would replicate it. Let me know if you try it out and what the results are! Amy Wisniewski, CHOW test kitchen
DO YOU THINK YOU COULD MIX THIS UP IN BREADMAKER?
I wish they would include weight measurements for baking recipes.
I'd thin the yogurt out with some milk (skim, if you have it). Otherwise, the flour might not get sufficiently hydrated.
I never have buttermilk but usually have yogurt. Do you think you could substitute?
I agree with Scott_R re coarse whole wheat flour. If you can get it, Odlum's (from Ireland) extra coarse ground whole wheat flour is a treat. I use a neutral flavored oil instead of butter, and go for a dough that is very wet (no kneading, just mix very well in the bowl). I also preheat oven to 450, cook at this temp for 10 minutes, then drop to 400 for remaining cooking time.
You need a really coarse whole wheat flour to get the large crumb that an Irish brown bread should have.